According to the NATO Secretary General, Ukraine has the right to decide whether to apply for membership in the Alliance or not.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticized the idea of “Finlandization” of Ukraine. He believes that Ukraine itself should decide the issue of joining the Alliance.
He said this in an interview with the Spanish edition of La Vanguardia.
“All NATO allies have recognized the right of all nations to determine their own path. The idea that great nations can decide what their neighbors can do is exactly the kind of world we don’t want to return to. Spheres of influence are part of history and must remain part of history,” the NATO Secretary General said.
He stressed that Ukraine has the right to decide whether to apply for membership in the Alliance or not.
As you know, Finland, attacked by the Soviet Union in 1939, defended itself against complete occupation, but was forced to accept the loss of territories, and after the Second World War, a policy of non-alignment and other restrictions were imposed on it. Only after the collapse of the USSR, Finland joined the European Union in 1995 and now notes that it has the right to join NATO.
The French newspaper Le Figaro reported that on the plane to Moscow, French President Emmanuel Macron told several journalists that among the ideas for discussion was the possibility of the so-called “Finlandization” of Ukraine – agreeing to de facto limit Ukrainian sovereignty and, in particular, the Ukrainian right to participate in certain defense or political alliances
Subsequently, while on a visit to Kiev, during negotiations with Vladimir Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron denied French media reports about the possibility of “Finlandization” of Ukraine as one of the topics of his conversation with the Russian president.
